The US’ “preeminence” in East Asia and its confidence that it could defeat any hostile Chinese military maneuver against Taiwan make it less urgent for Washington to approve a batch of arms sales to Taiwan that the administration has frozen, the commander of the US forces in the Pacific region said in Washington on Wednesday.
Admiral Timothy Keating confirmed the decision of the administration of US President George W. Bush to freeze the processing of some US$12 billion in arms sales to Taiwan — at least temporarily.
But amid indications that his Pacific command disagrees with the administration on the freeze, Keating’s defense was heavily hedged as he answered questions at a presentation at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
Earlier reports stated that the items involved in the freeze include submarines, anti-missile systems and helicopters, as well as advanced F-16 fighter jets.
“It is administration policy,” the admiral said in answer to a question from a Taiwanese reporter.
Destabilize
He justified the policy by saying: “We want to do nothing to destabilize the straits [sic].”
“The folks who make these decisions have reconciled Taiwan’s current military posture and China’s current military posture and strategy,” he said, referring to the State Department, White House and National Security Council (NSC).
“That indicates there is no pressing, compelling need for, at this moment, arms sales to Taiwan of the systems that we are talking about,” he said.
Keating was not asked whether the new policy violates the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, in which the US is committed to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons on the basis of need rather than political considerations, as well as former US president Ronald Reagan’s six assurances, which pledged the continuation of such weapons sales.
News reports have said the freeze, which began late last year, was a bid to placate China as the US needed Beijing’s cooperation on a series of global issues, as well as concerns expressed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials that the timing of any sales announcement could affect warming relations with China under the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Hamper
Whether the freeze will in years ahead hamper Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against an increasingly strong and modern Chinese military machine as Taiwan’s military might wanes is a “consideration” but not a “concern,” Keating said, conceding that the military balance in the Strait could widen in China’s favor in years to come.
In discussing the situation with top Pentagon officials, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and NSC officials, Keating said he told them he was not “overly concerned,” but that the cross-strait situation “is something we regard carefully.”
“We’re doing everything in our power to preclude occurrence, that is to say, the outbreak of hostilities across the Strait,” Keating said. “And I’m more comfortable today than I was 15 months ago that my belief is well-founded, that it’s very ... unlikely that there will be conflict across the Strait.”
But Keating added that “Taiwan’s stuff is getting older, China’s stuff is good and getting newer. There is an imbalance.”
“I think that our country’s policy to do everything we can to defuse tension in the Strait has borne fruit and is much more likely to be unchallenged in the year to mid, and even to long term,” he said.
Keating asserted that the US was “committed to the defense of Taiwan,” adding that the US’ position as a “preeminent force” in the Pacific meant that it would be “folly” for China or another country to believe it could win a war against the US.
On the basis of his repeated conversations with Chinese military leaders since he took over as US commander in the Pacific last year, Keating said he felt the situation in the Taiwan Strait was “significantly more stable” than when he took over.
“The tensions have been palpably decreased in the Strait,” especially since Ma’s election, he said.
“We’re trying to instill a very clear sense of military preeminence, so as to be a powerful deterrence against China’s kinetic military undertaking against Taiwan ... I want them [China] to know they’re going to lose ... so don’t bother,” he said.
In Taipei, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) yesterday said the legislature’s passage of relevant budgets demonstrated Taiwan’s committment to strengthening its self-defense capability. The office expressed the hope that the US arms procurement could proceed as originally scheduled, he said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
Also see: Obama focuses on foreign policy, McCain on schools
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College